Executive Function Decay: Why Managerial Judgment Fails Under Pressure and How Organizations Can Respond

Abstract

Mental-health strain has become a routine feature of organizational life, yet managers and organizations continue to struggle to explain why capable employees make avoidable errors, why teams lose coordination under pressure, and why judgment quality deteriorates during periods of sustained stress. This article argues that executive function decay—the temporary or chronic degradation of working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility—is a central but underrecognized mechanism linking mental strain to workplace performance failures.

Drawing on research from cognitive neuroscience, clinical psychology, and organizational behavior, I explain how common forms of mental-health morbidity and burnout impair the cognitive capacities that support judgment, emotional regulation, and adaptive decision-making. I show how executive function decay produces predictable patterns of managerial behavior, team dysfunction, and organizational drift that are misattributed to motivation, attitude, or character.

The article introduces a multilevel framework connecting executive function impairment to outcomes at the individual, team, and organizational levels. I then translate this framework into practical implications for leaders and HR systems, highlighting how job design, leadership behavior, workload architecture, and organizational norms can either stabilize or erode cognitive capacity. By reframing mental health as a decision-quality and organizational design issue, this article offers managers and scholars a practical lens for improving judgment, coordination, and resilience under pressure.